Honest opinion - they make me cringe. I understand the concept, and on some level agree with it, I know many great, loving, not at all lazy parents who use/have used them. But I still cringe when I see one. The backpack ones make me cringe less than the outright harnesses, but I still get the heebiejeebies looking at a child on a leash. I don't mind a dog on a leash, because I don't think I assign as much dignity to a dog as I do a person, and being held on a leash screams indignity to me.

But really, who gives a flying proverbial what onlookers might be thinking if you feel it is needed for your sanity, or the child's safety. I manage my feral children with holding arms, a meitei, sling or pram, barring all that, simple parental control (yup tonnes of that around here with my pigheaded little angels ). But if you are in a situation where you can do it no other way, or quite simply prefer this method, the be damned what others think. I may cringe, but who cares?

Parental choices made with good intentions are rarely wrong. If you need one, use it.